CATHERINE HALL, St James – Struggling Red Stripe Premier League outfit Montego Bay United FC could be forced to leave the 7,000 seat Montego Bay Sports Complex and play their home games at Jarrett Park when the second round of the competition gets underway on Wednesday, November 23.

The high costs of using the facility in Catherine Hall could drive the administration of the promoted club to play games at Jarrett Park, club president Orville Powell said.

He told the Observer West earlier this week that it was costing them upwards of $350,000 to play a game at the facility, pointing out that it would cost the club roughly $6.6 million over the duration of the season to play to 19 home games there.

“When we pay $260,000 to use the facility, plus the use of the floodlights at $7,000 per hour; workmen to prepare the field, security and other things that attends to each game day, you can see it makes no sense,” Powell lamented.

In addition to paying for the use of the facility, Powell says they also have to prepare the field include trimming the grass and marking the lines for games.

The cost to use Jarrett Park is $40,000 for a single game and $100,000 for a double header, Observer West has learned. The Jarrett Park Management Committee also takes care of the preparation and marking of the field.

The Montego Bay Sports Complex that was opened last year after almost a decade in construction however, has about three times more seating than Jarrett Park, as well as more bathrooms and other facilities.

Councillor Charles Sinclair, Mayor of Montego Bay and chairman of the St James Parish Council was unmoved by question’s posed by Observer West pointing to the maintenance cost of the facility that has to be borne solely by them.

There were other aspects of the running of the facility that irked Powell who pointed out that vendors were being asked to pay $20,000 per game, while “even members of the media were being asked to pay for parking here.”

Earlier, however, Sinclair had told the Observer West that members of the media could apply to the Parish Council for parking stickers.

Powell meanwhile, is hoping they will not be forced to move, “this is the best facility we have and it would be a shame to have to move to Jarrett Park. The Catherine Hall venue is in keeping with the brand and standard of football we have in our vision for Montego Bay and it would be a shame if we had to move.”